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The Dehn-Nielsen-Baer theorem states, for closed orientable surfaces of positive genus, , that the canonical homomorphism from their extended mapping class group (including orientation-reversing maps) to the outer automorphism group of their fundamental group (at any basepoint, using that surfaces are assumed to be connected) is an isomorphism:
The first published argument, credited to Max Dehn (whose proof has been lost, cf. Stillwell 1987):
Detailed review of the original arguments by Max Dehn and Nielsen, as far as recoverable:
Textbook accounts:
Generalization to orbifolds:
Last revised on August 25, 2025 at 13:04:27. See the history of this page for a list of all contributions to it.